MANASSAS, VA – A decades-old murder case involving a woman who was stabbed repeatedly and left in a state forest has been solved, Virginia State Police announced Friday.
Shirley L. Washington, 33, of Washington, DC, was found dead in Conway Robinson State Forest outside Gainesville on December 8, 1973. She had been stabbed eight times.
Agents have now determined that the man who killed her was her husband, Clarence E. Washington. He died in 2013 at the age of 68, after accumulating a number of assault accusations.
Investigators say that Shirley Washington had moved out of the home she shared with her husband after he was accused of assaulting a minor, and that Clarence Washington had threatened his wife before she was murdered. Clarence Washington had a history of violence: in addition to the accused assault on a minor, he had been charged with stabbing an ex-wife in 1964 and he would go on to rack up more stabbing charges in the 1980s.
Virginia investigators say Clarence Washington had knowledge of the state forest where his wife’s body was found, though he denied it.
Clarence Washington had a motive for his wife’s murder, could not account for his whereabouts at the time of the murder, would not cooperate with investigators on his wife’s disappearance, and had threatened his wife, Amy Ashworth, commonwealth’s attorney for Prince William County and the Cities of Manassas and Manassas Park, said in a press release.
“We are convinced, from the evidence before us today, that the murder was committed by her husband, Clarence Edward Washington, Jr.; however, given the length of time that has elapsed, the deterioration of the physical evidence, and the death of key eyewitnesses, we are unable to prosecute the case,” she explained.
The Prince William County Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office says the case would be prosecuted if Clarence Washington were still alive.
"The Virginia State Police should be commended for continuing to work on this investigation for over 50 years,” Ashworth said. “It shows their dedication not only to the job, but to the pursuit of justice for everyone. There is never a way to take away the pain from the loss of a loved one, especially in these circumstances; however, knowing that the Virginia State Police do not give up pursuing justice for the victims’ families should be reassuring.”
According to Project Cold Case, Virginia currently has more than 6,400 unsolved homicides dating back to 1965, with a murder clearance rate of 75 percent.
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